Will a'restricting solar panels on farmland' help food security?

A rumoured plan from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to dramatically restrict solar panels on farmland in the UK will not help food security – which is threatened far more by climate change – let alone energy security, and is at odds with the Government’s Net Zero Strategy.

Will reclassify agricultural land to ban solar panels?

This week there have been reports of an intervention in the renewable energy market in the form of a move to reclassify some agricultural land so that solar arrays would be banned from most farmland across England.

Can you build a solar farm on agricultural land?

While obtaining planning consent for ground-mounted solar farms on agricultural land can be challenging – Andrew Shirley, our Head of Rural Research, advises it can “easily take ten years to get a scheme off the ground” - rural properties often feature large barns with roofs suitable for solar panel installations.

Will a ground-mounted solar PV policy protect farmland?

The policy would guide planning authorities to restrict ground-mounted solar PV developments on BMV land to protect agricultural production, and is ostensibly to protect British farmland so that it can be optimised for food production.

Are solar panels a threat to British food production & security?

The biggest threat to British food production and security is not solar PV generation on moderate quality agricultural land but is in fact climate change. As the 2022 summer heatwave has shown, the UK is poorly equipped to deal with the extremes wrought by a changing climate.

Are solar panels a viable alternative to a bare field?

The farm also hosts a community garden that “could work very well between the panels”, he adds. While these options are not as flexible as a bare field, says Martin, having solar panels “complements our broader farming system”.